Someone to Protect
by Amari412
Summary: Oneshot, based on an RP me and a friend are doing. There's little Jonathan Crane cares for to protect, but when someone nearly destroys one of those little things, he'll go to very extreme means to defend it. Scarecrow/OC, features character death.


**Someone to Protect  
By: Amari412**

There weren't too many things in this world he'd fight for, much less kill for. But recently, something was happening. Something was changing, shifting inside of him. It was the object of this change, its trigger, he wanted to both banish and protect.

The change itself had him conflicted. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Most would say the change was for the better, but deep in the shattered fragments of his mind, it made him feel exposed and vulnerable. The walls he'd so painstakingly built around himself were gone, crumbled to dust by this vulnerability.

All he could think of about now was HER, the trigger of this nuisance, this confliction. His heart lurched painfully as he saw her in his mind's eye. He leaned against a nearby wall, wanting nothing more than the throbbing to stop. Sighing, her name crossed his lips and came out in a slightly pained breath.

"Liane…"

He shuddered, the throbbing only getting worse. Whoever said love hurts they were damn well right in his case. It didn't really make sense to him. He didn't understand it, how it happened. He'd never given or received this…this love. In a small, strange way, it terrified him. He smirked with self cruelty.

He was Scarecrow, the master of fear, but now here he was, afraid of a feeling he didn't understand. At long last, the throbbing lessened to a dull ache and he continued on his way, wherever the hell that was. To be honest, he didn't know where he was going. He didn't care who would see him. Without her, he was like a lost puppy. All that mattered was he needed to find her…or the one responsible for Liane's disappearance. Well, for the most part he was responsible.

"Looking for me, Scarecrow?" a voice, somewhat high pitched and rather annoying, inquired behind him.

Jonathan Crane turned and faced his enemy. He was a relatively short man with short wild blonde hair under a top hat. From his distance, the man's eyes were black though they were actually a dark brown. The fingers on his left hand were mangled, obviously from the last attack he suffered at the hands of the Joker. He wore a long coat, a sort of darkish green in color. Jonathan's right fist clenched tightly at the sight of him. The other hand he kept in his pocket. Soon though…very soon…

"Jervais…What an unpleasant surprise".  
"Awww, what's the matter, Scarecrow? Not happy to see your old partner?"  
"Not in the slightest".  
"Are you angry at me?"  
"Like hell I am".  
"And why's that if I may ask?"  
"You know damn well why!"  
"Oh please Jonathan…is this about that girl I tossed off the roof in my little scuffle with you and Victor?"

Under his mask, Jonathan gave Jervais a very dark look. It conveyed clearly in his deep blue eyes and didn't go unnoticed by the Mad Hatter. He smiled with cruelty in response.

"What was her name again? Alice was it?"  
"That's what you called her!" Jonathan yelled, but then calmed himself, "Her name is…Liane".  
"Oh…right. Well you can be rest assured Jonathan I have no idea where she is or if she's even still alive".

Fury brought out the worst in him, but it also brought out his inner strength. His anger brought out Scarecrow and just for a moment, just for a time, he was truly Scarecrow. There was no Jonathan Crane as he held Jervais up by his collar, face close to his.

"You better hope she's alive. Because you know me Jervais, and know this to be true, if I find out she's dead before you are, YOU can be rest assured you'll be dead too".

The Hatter struggled in Scarecrow's grip. "Why…why the sudden…change of heart, Jonathan? What…do you care…if some young lady lives or dies?"

Jervais saw the anger flash even deeper behind his former partner's eyes and it dawned on him. He looked surprised for a moment and his strange creepy smile turned into a devilish grin that unnerved even Scarecrow.

"What's the grin for?!" Scarecrow demanded, shaking the Hatter roughly.  
"Are you in love with her, Jonathan? Awww…the little tramp has crawled her way into whatever is left of that putrid heart of yours".  
"Shut up!" Scarecrow yelled, not wanting to hear the truth he wouldn't dare admit even to himself.  
"And you want to be with her forever, don't you? She makes you so happy, Jonathan. She's torn you wide open. She invades your thoughts, haunts your dreams and your fantasies. Just imagine it…you failed to save her from that rooftop. What would she think of you now?"  
"SHUT UP!" Scarecrow tossed the Hatter aside, the ache from before returning.

It was horrible this time, nearly crippling. This was what heartbreak felt like, true heartbreak. If there was any time Scarecrow was afraid, it was now. He was losing control, worse than ever. Even the dust from his once strong walls were gone. He tore the mask off, and he was just Jonathan Crane, disgraced psychiatrist, and a man…just a man…tragically, confused and lost in love. His eyes stung with angry tears. He didn't want to admit it, but all Jervais said was true. He loved Liane and nothing on this god forsaken planet could change that. He banged his fist on the ground in frustration, wanting nothing more than to destroy these feelings, to just be rid of them somehow at any cost.

"Jonathan…poor, unhappy Jonathan…look what's happened to you. You were the master of fear, the terror of Gotham, and look at yourself now. You're all torn up about some girl. Love is weakness, Jonathan Crane. I thought you knew that better than anyone. What a shame".

Jonathan's fist clenched again and he shook in a strange mix of rage and despair. The Hatter was right again. Love was weakness. It did nothing but cloud the mind and hurt the heart. Love literally hurt in his case, and, given the chance, it'd kill him.

But why didn't he want it to go away? When he thought of Liane, and looked at his life, she was the only person who'd treated him with any kind of decency. She'd even admitted she admired him for his smarts and his ability to turn fear into a weapon. He thought of her little experiment as well, how it'd mutated her at least on the inside, giving her ice powers. She hadn't trusted him with the details and this was the result of that mistrust. If he'd known, he would've tried to stop her, mostly out of concern. Jon remembered being jealous as she hugged Edward upon waking from what they had all thought was a coma. But still, despite or maybe because of it, he still loved her, wanted her.

She was his, and always would be, whether she was aware of his feelings or not. And he wouldn't let anyone convince him otherwise. Slowly, he stood up and put his mask on again, becoming Scarecrow once more, but with a new purpose.

"Whatever happened to the master of fear, Jonathan?" Jervais asked tauntingly.  
Scarecrow paused before answering. "He's still here…"  
"Then prove it!"  
"Oh with pleasure!"

Before the Hatter could say respond, four long, sharp needles stabbed into his neck. His eyes widened as he felt Scarecrow's fear toxin surge through him. On Scarecrow's left hand was a glove with sharp needles that served like claws. The Hatter convulsed, overdosing, dying. Scarecrow watched, hatred burning in his eyes like hellfire, merciless. But this was only the beginning. Quickly, he stabbed the other side of the Hatter's neck, deeper than he'd stabbed the other side.

"Bleed…bleed out damn it!"

Anger mixed with his pain and his vision blurred. Jervais fell to the ground and Scarecrow followed, landing above him. He slashed the nearly lifeless body of Jervais Tetch in the face, neck, and arms. The only thing he could think of was Liane falling off that rooftop, and him reaching out but failing to save her in time, her look of terror and the helplessness that had consumed him as she fell. Finally Scarecrow dealt a final blow to the Hatter's heart. Breathing hard, adrenaline rushed through him. Leaning down, he whispered.

"I'm still the master of fear, as you just now saw".

He removed the mask and the glove and simply walked away, leaving Jervais Tetch a bloody dead heap. If Liane was still alive, he'd find her. If she was dead, well, perhaps he'd join her in that sickly sweet fate.

There were few things in this world Jonathan Crane cared for, but for the one he loved, he'd kill to protect.

**A/N: First ever Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow centered fic ever. I probably did a crappy job of doing a love struck scarecrow, but whatever. I tried. Reviews very much appreciated. Thanks for reading**


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